OutToPlayJazz

Lovely collection. How're you finding the Bongo?

Very very nice setup, Alan. Enjoy!

[quote name='basss' post='609422' date='Sep 26 2009, 06:04 PM']Thanks for the tip. The thing I'm really looking for is something to boost my playing because i feel that i'm not learning anything anymore, my playing's not getting faster no matter what I try (and it's not very fast to begin with), and i don't find myself improving no matter how long i spend on the instruments.I practice a lot but it seems to have no effect. Any help?![/quote] Faster playing needs to cone from economy and stable technique in the left or fingering hand. Start by making sure the thumb stays behind the neck, opposite the middle finger. Said thumb should never hook over the top edge of the neck. This for a start will give you more freedom of movement in the left hand, as by employing this method, the neck is not physically sitting in the palm of the hand. Secondly, play 1-2-4 fingering below the 7th fret. (The hand only covering one tone or three frets.) If you avoid using the third finger in the lower reaches if the neck, you're making sure the hand is more compact and thusly more lithe. Stretching the hand to one finger per fret only slows you down. By all means play one finger per fret higher up the neck, where the positions get physically narrower. When you're changing string, try and leave a finger, or fingers, in reserve on the previous string. This way you never waste energy taking all the fingers off the strings, only to have to rebuild the hand on a new string. Lastly, try and work across the strings as much as you can. Use open strings as opposed to moving for no apparent reason. The less you move around, the faster you'll become. Rich.

Actually I was thinking the same sort of thing - We ought to meet up, being as we are neighbours, MM20.

Hmmm... Seems technically interesting, but I don't know how much of that you'd actually use if you had a really good bass and amp in the first place. I've got the BassPod XT Live & I only really use about three of the sounds on it. And that's mostly studio amp modelling or the tube preamp setting. And then again, it's only when I'm playing a passive bass. The active basses don't need any effects. They all sound amazing as they are

It's usually down to string age If I'm playing a lot, I change mine every 3-4 gigs. I can't stand dull sounding old strings. Your bass sounds like it has a new lease of life in it now

Dave Ryan at Electro Music in Doncaster usually keeps a couple of Sandbergs in. There was a lovely PM4 Extreme model in a while ago. Sounded amazing as well.

How about a Status-Graphite S2-Classic bolt-on 5? Even a new one is just £50 shy of your budget. Growltastic

Very very nice - And 2-band eq as well. Just as a Ray should be

I played James' Stingray with the Nordstrand on Saturday when I was down there - The new pickup is so pronounced and clear. Very clearly defined and lovely sound. Would you say "hifi" is a good descriptor, James? Rich.

You get this problem a lot with 60-cycle hum in badly earthed older properties. The electrics in our house are ancient, so I get a little hum with the high end on the Status preamps and a slight touch/non touch hum on the Fender and other single coil instruments. Worst nightmare is playing a venue with dimmer switches for the lights when you're plugged into the same circuit. That usually produces a truly nasty buzz! Rich.

I played a couple of SR's at Higgie's the other day and while I'm no MM lover, his 4-stringer with the Norstrand pickup was amazing. What a sound!

Nice one Alex. After chatting to Todd quite a bit about his prototype Mk-II headless, I'm seriously thinking of coil s/p switching on my next Colchester-based commission!

Hmmm... £3999 you say? That's 2 Status S2-Classics... or 4 Fender American Standard Jazzes/Precisions... or 14 Squier Classic Vibe Jazzes!

Lovely job! How did you do the engraving on the neck plate & the decals on the headstock? Rich.

Wonderful, mate! Which one did you buy in the end? The green one in the home video?

Tabs? Tabs? What's all this "tabs" nonsense? Can't you read proper music??

Many thanks for the warm words, James. Great to meet you and Steve & also thanks for letting me play all your lovely basses Rich.

Has your Status arrived yet, Marcus?

Cort? Yes, the Korean Cort factory is very highly regarded. Never been particularly taken by the product, though. Just a little boring. The little Curbow model with the slap switch is nice enough, but you're still better looking at Yamaha BB's, Ibanez SR's & Squier Classic Vibes. Just make sure you play as many basses as you can in this price range. Whatever the brand, if you like how it feels and how it sounds, you're onto a winner. Rich.

Congrats, bassatnight Do you have some pics for us?